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BROTHER SPOTLIGHT
BROTHER
SPOTLIGHT
On January 25th, 2022, Brother Dr. Bruce L. Brown was appointed president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Inc. of Petersburg, Virginia. The NPHC of Petersburg, VA., supports the three independent cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell, Virginia, and portions of the adjoining counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, and Prince George counties in south central Virginia. The unincorporated neighboring communities of Ettrick and Fort Lee are also supported by the NPHC in Petersburg, VA. Brother Dr. Bruce Brown has faithfully served on the Petersburg, VA NPHC for nine years, with various accolades and recognition for his remarkable achievements in bolstering unity in the community. The NPHC of Petersburg, VA. promotes the cooperative actions of its twelve council chapters that focus on matters of mutual interests of its affiliate fraternities, sororities, and local community organizations. As president, Brother Dr. Bruce Brown will lead the organization’s efforts to enhance the current activities of local fraternities and sororities, in partnership with its community service organizations, to uplift and improve the neighborhoods in which they serve.
DELTA OMEGA’S BROTHER (DR.) BRUCE L. BROWN
BROTHER ALONZO L. SMITH
Brothers of Zeta Omicron Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated congratulate Brother Alonzo L. Smith (Zeta Omicron – 2000) for being awarded the 2022 BEYA Modern Day Technology Leader Award. This award is given to men and women who have demonstrated outstanding performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Brother Smith’s passion for developing healthy communities has led him to provide mentorship through several facets. Omega continues to influence the STEM arena through our ideals, but this is a story about friendship and how that relationship shapes our lives and the world around us. The ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., virtually on February 18, 2022.
Alonzo is a native of Gaston, North Carolina. Brother Smith led the successful implementation of Quality-of-Life initiatives that touched 10,000 plus shipbuilders. Quality of Life is designed to improve overall employee wellness. He also established
the Transformation roadmaps for the Trades Operation Division and built a solid foundation to expand Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) Time to Proficiency initiatives focused on accelerating learning. By working with several key stakeholders, Brother Smith led the development of the Newport News Shipbuilding’s first proficiency metric. This leading indicator connects training to business performance.
In 2000, Brother Smith was a co-creator of Corporate Career Day, which exposed Northampton County Public Schools System students to STEM professions. Since 2013, he has been a mentor and STEM presenter for the Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence (E.M.B.O.D.I) and Youth Academy Programs in Hampton, Virginia. Alonzo served as the President of the Hampton Omega Foundation from 2016 to 2017. The E.M.B.O.D.I. organization focuses its efforts on scholarship and social action initiatives. Also, in 2016, Brother Smith was elected to the Board of Directors for the African American Shipbuilders Association. In 2019, Brother Smith was a Coach/ Team Mentor for the Hampton Parks and Recreation Woodland Wildcats. That same year, Brother Smith organized efforts to provide two scholarships to Northampton County High School graduates in Gaston, North Carolina. Brother Smith has held several elected positions and committee chairs in the Zeta Omicron chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., from Keeper of Peace to KRS, Vice Basileus, and Basileus since his initiation in 2003. Brother Smith stated, “His story is about friendship, and how that relationship shapes the lives and the world around us.
Brother Smith wanted to give special thanks to Dr. Marcus Tillery, his Freshman Advisor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Dr. Tillery, like Alonzo, was a product of eastern North Carolina, and it was this connection that drew him to be around Dr. Tillery. He also wanted to give special thanks to Mr. Xavier Beale, Vice President of Trades Operations at Newport News Shipbuilding. Brother Smith works at Newport News Shipbuilding, the largest industrial employer in Virginia, the sole designer, builder, and refueler of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, and one of two providers of U.S. Navy Submarines. Under Mr. Beale’s leadership, Brother Smith broadened his leadership skills and demonstrated a more significant impact at Newport News Shipbuilding.
One of Alonzo’s proudest moments as an Omega Man and a shipbuilder was when the Navy laid the keel for the USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10). The USNS Charles Drew was christened and launched on February 27, 2010, sponsored by Mrs. Bebe Drew Price, the eldest daughter of Dr. Drew. Although Newport News Shipbuilding did not build this ship, it certainly is an excellent tribute to an Omega Man who has impacted humanity. Omega continues to manufacture Bridge Builders. Brothers who continue to make a positive impact on people and their environments. This is illustrated by Brothers like Dr. Marcus Tillery, Mr. Xavier Beale, and Dr. Charles Drew. This rich legacy continues to build paths to areas originally thought inaccessible. Around and through obstacles deep and wide, and despite the environment, there is no place for fear. It is replaced with a responsibility to humanity and to make the world a better place, realizing it starts with you.
It is only fitting that the USNS Charles Drew is a cargo ship designed to move resources from one place to the other. A mobile bridge ensuring the appropriate resources are available to complete the mission. The result of building bridges usually ends with the suffix “ship,” the state or condition of being something. Be a “ship” builder. Omega builds relationships; Omega builds fellowships; Omega builds scholarships, and may we all strive to continue to build Friendships that are Essential to the Soul.
THE HONORING OF A GREAT BROTHER
Edwin Bancroft Henderson Sports Complex
Atrailblazer is defined as a pioneer or innovator. Brother E.B. Henderson was clearly a pioneer and an innovator throughout his life.
On Saturday, February 19, 2022, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm, the Alpha Omega and Omicron Gamma chapters, Third District of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., in conjunction with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and Dr. Henderson’s family, participated in the renaming of the Sports Complex on the campus. Dr. Edwin Bancroft (“E.B.”) Henderson was a pioneer of physical health education and basketball, athlete and coach, and civil rights advocate. Brother Henderson of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was a proud graduate from the Miner Normal School (the predecessor to UDC) in 1904 and a Charter member of Alpha Omega Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. in 1922. Known as the “Father of Black Basketball,” he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. The renaming of the Sports Complex on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia to the “Edwin Bancroft Henderson Sports Complex” is a tribute to his life and legacy.
Dr. Edwin Bancroft (“E.B.”) Henderson was born in Southwest Washington, D.C., on November 24, 1883. He was an honors graduate of M Street High School (Now called Dunbar High School). He was an American educator and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) pioneer. He introduced basketball to African Americans in Washington, D.C., in 1904, and was Washington’s first male African American physical education teacher (and possibly the first in the country). Many National Basketball Association (NBA) players owe a great debt and respect to Dr. Henderson, who created the path for them to pursue the game. From 1926 until his retirement in 1954, Henderson served as director of health and physical education for Washington D.C.’s black schools. An athlete and team player rather than a star, Henderson taught physical education to African Americans and organized athletic activities in Washington, D.C. and Fairfax County, Virginia, where his grandmother lived and where he returned with his wife in 1910 to raise their family. A prolific letter writer both to newspapers in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and Alabama (where he spent many of his last years), Henderson also helped organize the Fairfax County branch of the NAACP. Dr. Henderson served twice as President of the Virginia NAACP in the 1950s. Dr. Henderson died of cancer in 1977, at age 93, at his son’s home in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Brother Henderson’s family members were in attendance for the ceremony, including his grandson, Edwin Bancroft Henderson, II. Representatives of the University, including the President (Ronald Mason, Jr.), who offered remarks in honor of the occasion. A proclamation was given to Brother Henderson’s grandson on behalf of the University and Trustees. John Thompson, III presented a check for $200,000 to the University on behalf of Monument Sports and Entertainment and the Ted Leonsis Foundation (owner of the Washington
Wizards and Capitals), towards a $2 Million fund to complete improvements to the Sports Complex, including a statue to be commissioned and placed outside of the Sports Complex. Additionally, “Omicron Gamma Chapter made a $500 donation on behalf of the chapter to the Dr. E.B. Henderson Memorial Fund Campaign because Brother Henderson was an alumnus of UDC, and he was our well-respected fraternity Brother,” said Brother Javan White (Omicron Gamma Chapter 2021). In addition, special recognition for participation and organizing the event goes to the following dignitaries and honored guests:
Ronald Mason, Jr. – President, University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Rodney Trapp – Vice President, UDC Christopher D. Bell, Esq. – Chairman, Board of Trustees, UDC Barrington D. Scott, I – Member, Board of Trustees, UDC Patricia Thomas – Director of Athletics, UDC John Thompson, III – Vice President of Player Development and Engagement, Monumental Sports and Entertainment (former head basketball coach, Georgetown University, and son of legendary Coach John Thompson) Rev. Lucius Dalton, Basileus, Alpha Omega Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Brother Mark Robinson, Alpha Omega Chapter, Centennial Committee Chairma Brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
What a beautiful edifice that pays tribute to a great man, history-maker, and Brother whose light continues to shine and make an impact on the community.
HONORING A ‘RENAISSANCE MAN’
“[The American Negro] is fecund, having maintained under adverse conditions a consistently high birth rate which has raised his numbers to approximately thirteen million despite a high mortality rate. He is physically strong, showing great endurance at strenuous labor under severe climatic and nutritional hardships, and producing a disproportionately large number of champions in representative fields of athletics. He is mentally able, having produced individuals of exceptional attainments in nearly every line of intellectual endeavor and integrated himself into all phases of modern life in which opportunity has opened.”
William Montague Cobb “The Negro as a Biological Element in the American Population,” 1939
Called a “Renaissance Man” repeatedly by those gathered to recognize his achievements, Dr. W. Montague Cobb was honored with the naming of the “Dr. Montague Cobb Way” on the campus of Howard University on March 27, 2022. Dr. Montague Cobb Way is located at 6th and W Streets, NW, and falls between Howard University’s College of Medicine and College of Dentistry.
Brother Cobb was born in Washington D.C. on Oct. 12, 1904, and entered Omega Chapter on Nov. 20, 1990, at the age of 86.
Brother Cobb graduated from Dunbar High School in 1921. At Dunbar, his Latin teacher was Brother Clyde McDuffie, a charter member of Alpha Omega Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the chapter at which Brother Cobb would later serve as Basileus. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1925. He was initiated into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., through Gamma Chapter in 1922.
In 1926, Brother Cobb chartered the Kappa Psi Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., as an intermediate chapter for the professional students at Howard University. From 1926 until 2000, Kappa Psi Chapter initiated undergraduates from Georgetown, George Washington, and American and Catholic universities. It became Washington, D.C.’s second graduate chapter in 2000.
Brother Cobb taught for numerous years at Howard University, earning his medical degree in 1929 and becoming the university’s first distinguished professor in 1969 and professor emeritus in 1973. Brother Cobb earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Case Western Reserve University in 1932, making him the first African American in the country to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology and the only one until after the Korean War.
From 1934 to 1937, Cobb served as Basileus of the Alpha Omega Chapter. He also served as president of the NAACP (1976-1982), the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (1957-1959), and the Anthropological Society of Washington (1949-1951). He was also president of the National Medical Association (1964-1965) and chaired the Department of Anatomy of Howard University’s College of Medicine from 1969 to 1974.
Brother Cobb advocated for health improvements and civil rights for all, and his efforts led to expanding access to health care. He testified before Congress leading up to the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. He was also present at the signing of the bill into law, being personally invited to the ceremony by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
In addition to Howard University faculty members and administrators, and the Brothers of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., including the fraternity’s Grand Keeper of Records and Seal, Brother Mark E. Jackson, other organizations who sent representatives to the ceremony honoring Brother Cobb were: the W. Montague Cobb Institute; National Medical Association; and the Washington, D.C. City Council. Many of Brother Cobb’s family members were also in attendance for the program.
“This is a grand occasion,” said Grand KRS Jackson. “If today’s program had a subscript, it would probably read, ‘A tribute long overdue.’”
Brother Jackson said, “He was a giant in Omega and a trailblazer. Dr. Cobb walked amongst our founders, and like our founders, Dr. Cobb personified our beloved Cardinal Principles of Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift. Dr. Cobb’s legacy continues today. For his legacy lives within me and you. And just as importantly, his legacy lives through the Omega Foundation, the Dr. William Montague Cobb Educational Foundation, which supports District of Columbia students and prepares them for success in global citizenry. Since its inception, the foundation has positively impacted thousands of students in Washington, D.C. Additionally, I like to think of it in this fashion, ‘because he was, therefore I am.’ I stand on his shoulders. A tribute long overdue.”
Amy Wilkinson, the granddaughter of Brother Cobb, said, “In addition to being an educator, civil rights leader and advocate, prolific writer, historian, researcher and recipient of numerous awards, Montague Cobb was a renaissance man and a character. He had many pursuits and talents. He played the violin, a raconteur, actor, painter, and collector of beautiful objects. Additionally, he took a movie camera with him wherever he went to record historical events, like the March on Washington and various family activities. He had a great wit and sense of humor. He was always working to move forward, make things better, end discrimination in medicine, make health care affordable to millions of people, and make the world a better place.”
Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., professor and chair of pathology at the Howard University College of Medicine, called Cobb “a giant” at the university. “No one word could describe him, or one organization could tell his full story. He was a professor, scholar, researcher,
mentor, leader, activist, humanist, thought leader, and brother,” he added. “We were able to carve out just a small piece of real estate and name it after [Dr. Cobb], where people walking by can look up and wonder who that man was. And then when they find out, they will realize it is hallowed ground that they stand upon,” Mitchell said.
Howard University’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Anthony Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph., said, “If you only knew of Dr. Cobb as a faculty member in the College of Medicine, that he authored of more than 1,000 publications, that he taught over 6,000 anatomy students, that he was a star cross-country athlete and a star boxer who won championships you have only scratched the surface of knowing who this man was,” said Wutoh.
Kenyan McDuffie, Esq., Ward 5 Council Member, said Cobb “left an imprint on Washington, D.C., this country, and the world. He manifested in life the essence that calls on us all to serve as guides leading those who come after us. His legacy helps us all to be true, live strong and bold to battle the wrongs of this world.”
Thomas Hienbockel, Ph.D., professor, and interim chair of the Department of Anatomy at Howard University College of Medicine, called Cobb a “doctor father” and “academic father” who “shepherded” many to their degrees and “keenly observed” them on their career paths, “as a parent would do.”
Dr. Randall Morgan Jr., president and CEO of the W. Montague Cobb Institute, said, “Dr. Cobb serves as the compass along the journey for many following the same path seeking solutions for health disparities and healthcare inequities.”
Dr. Rachel Villanueva, president of the National Medical Association, said Dr. Cobb “impacted all facets of African American life in our country through his leadership in civil rights and his activism in policy issues. His legacy means so much to many, and we owe him so very much. His reach far exceeded that of medicine and science. But for us at the NMA, his career and life personify the mission and vision of our organization.”
